File Name Changing

hello everyone i hope i have posted this in the right place!! Anyway it has just come to my attention recently that every time i change the name on any of my file types whether they be avi, notepad, wmv, any!!! it renders the file unuseable can anyone please tell me what is wrong or what i have done wrong i am using win xp pro sp2

right click then re-name this has never done this until this week do you think i have done something wrong or do you think it is a virus or something i even tried using "unlocker" this does for changing even dll's but even this rendered the program/file un-useable

Nothing stupid about the question. If you rename movie1.avi to movie2.avi it's still the same format and should work like the orginal name because the file association is still the same .avi
So have you been installing anything strange in the last week. Just what the world needs, a virus that won't let you change filenames. What will they think of next. The net is starting to become a real pain. Well start out with the famous HJT log in the virus room.

Ps: Morph asked a very proper question. Do you know how many people rename a file from .avi to .mpg and think it's going to work.

i tried that and thankyou i have been configuring and building computers for years how stupid of me to overlook something like this however in my defence usually whenever i changed a filename before it used to complete the und of the file ie.txt or.3gp ect thankyou very much though and hey i am now a junior member woo hoo no more newbie

Only one way I could think of that would render the file unusable, is if you rename the file without any extension. But, that would create a pop up warning dialog in which you'd have agree too.

Second, would be as bkf suggested, trying to rename a file with a different extension...which is not a form of file conversion.

The way I usually rename files, isn't by using the right click menu, is just to click once on the file to highlight, then once more to bring up the rename action. A good thing to do, is to enable the extension view of all files. Go to Explorer, Tools, Folder Options, View tab, and uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types". That way, you'll see what extension each file is associated to.